Limerence
by andrella07
Summary: Crossover between RE and the movie Obsessed. When the Head of Security's assistant has to take maternity leave, Alice hires a temp - Claire, she's dedicated, hard-working, and driven...you could almost say she's obsessed, but not with her job.
1. Admiration

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and am making no profit from this piece of fanfiction.**

**Feedback is grealty encouraged, good or bad or something in between - just leave it! **

**This story was driven into my head after I watched Obsessed with Ali Larter, I had to write it. If you haven't seen the movie - go rent it or something, seriously! At least youtube the trailer so you're not completly lost here. **

**And finally, I would be nowhere without my beta for this work - cantholdon, who may be the most awesome person ever (but I'm pretty sure they are). You rock!**

**Limerence – an involuntary state of mind resulting from a romantic attraction for another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated.**

Chapter 1: Admiration

_December 1, 2010_

_Beautiful. Amazing. Attractive. Wonderful. Breathtaking. Perfect. How else can I describe the Angel that walked into my life today? Or rather, I think I walked into hers, but does it matter? She's the one I've been waiting for. _

The blare of an alarm threaded its way into Alice's dream and roused her. The black sheets shuffled as the man beside her rolled over in the expensive bed.

"Fuck. What time is it?" he asked drowsily.

"Hm, 5:00 a.m." The blonde woman yawned and smiled. "Same time the alarm always goes off."

"I hate your job."

Alice laughed as Spence climbed on top of her playfully. She brought her mouth up to his and bit his lower lip teasingly. When she rested her head back on the pillow he came down to claim her lips. The blonde loved passionate mornings like this, but it couldn't continue. Alice put an end to Spence's seduction with reluctance.

"Right now – I hate my job too, but you know I have to go do it."

Spence sighed in disappointment and moved off his wife.

The blonde woman took a fast shower and was out the door by 6:00. Out the door being: never leaving the mansion, but descending to the underground laboratory beneath it. She rarely wore her combat suit to the Hive anymore, thanks to her promotion to Head of Security. So today she was dressed in simple slacks and a dark jacket, however, she never went anywhere without her combat pistol. The most exciting part of her job these days was finding new places to conceal the weapon according to her outfit. She didn't regret her work though or the fat paycheck it provided.

The descent to the Hive by train took a little time, so she went over everything that needed to be accomplished in the day. First was a meeting with Wesker, then she had to interview a few replacements for her pregnant assistant who was about to go on leave, after that it was the run of the mill business that concluded every day.

Her office was on the lowest tier of the main facility, lower still were two other miniature hive complexes. Above her office were the majority of the labs, offices, and board rooms; beneath her was where the more top-secret experiments were conducted as well as the security systems core component, the hardware for the Red Queen, was located. The Red Queen was Alice's pride and joy. It was the artificial intelligence software she designed that got her promoted.

When Alice passed through multiple security checks, and finally got to tier eight she saw her assistant hang up the phone on her desk.

"Good morning Jill," Alice greeted.

"Good morning boss," the black-haired woman smiled as she spoke. "Chairman Wesker is waiting for you in your office."

The blonde sighed. Wesker was a tough leader; concerned only with progress and profit. Today's meeting was supposed to just be a standard check up, but if a projection of Wesker was waiting for her in her office instead of the boardroom, than the conversation they were about to have was likely not going to go well for Alice.

Before Alice approached the locked, shaded-glass door to her office she asked Jill, "how many temps am I interviewing today?"

"Well three, but I think you'll be sold on the woman I told you about last week," Jill said as she rose from the front desk with a manila folder in her hand destined for her boss. Alice couldn't help but look at her assistant's bulging belly. She was past eight months pregnant, and she looked like she was going to pop. The blonde walked towards Jill to keep her from going too far and took the folder.

"Your sister-in-law right?"

Jill smiled as she answered, "yes, you're going to love her. She's a hard worker."

"Well you know I trust your judgment, so consider her hired," Alice riffled through the contents of the file as she spoke, inside were papers on the applicants, "but we should probably go through the motions with them all anyways."

"Very good, Alice."

The papers on Jill's sister-in-law were the last in the file and as Alice studied the face she asked, "was she at your wedding?"

"No, and Chris was so disappointed," Jill smiled at the mention of her husband. "The two are pretty close. I'm kind of surprised now that you haven't met her yet."

Alice shrugged, and then grimaced as she said, "I suppose I shouldn't keep Wesker any longer." She walked over to her door as Jill spoke up.

"Don't forget on the 11th we're celebrating your birthday at the Arcadia."

Alice smiled good-naturedly, "I won't." She swiped her security card and then entered the five-digit code to gain access to her office. As Jill had promised, Wesker's projection was sitting in her seat, impatiently tapping his fingers on her desk. Alice found it off-putting; he must have had his own desk in front of him that was the exact same height as hers.

"Good morning Chairman Wesker," she greeted with proper courtesy.

"Mrs. Parks," Wesker nodded his head and Alice watched as the light from his own office shifted on the reflective surface of his dark sunglasses. She hated conferring with people this way; she would much prefer meeting with someone face to face and in the flesh. "Let's get down to business shall we? The Science Division in Death Valley is sending over a lab group to see what they can make of Progenitor virus."

The Progenitor virus – invented at her facility by Dr. Ashford. It had huge potential for the medical field with its regenerative properties, but had yet to be applied to that discipline or any discipline for that matter. It was too new, and too untested.

"It is your objective to make sure the team arrives to the Hive safely. Dr. Isaacs is the number one priority. Confirm," Wesker commanded.

"Understood sir."

"I'll send over the details soon." The projection of her boss faded away quickly and Alice breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't gone through their normal meeting protocol, but the blonde had nothing new to report anyways.

Alice threw the file onto her organized desk, and went back into the foyer where Jill awaited her.

"Was it bad?" Jill asked sincerely.

Alice shook her head. "Wesker is going to be sending over some information _soon,_" she mocked and Jill grinned. The two always made of fun of Wesker to relieve some of the tension working with him created. "Just send in the first temp when they arrive. _Confirm,_" Alice jeered again.

"Understood ma'am," Jill mock saluted and Alice chuckled.

The first temp entered promptly at 10:00 a.m. Alice was sitting at her desk typing furiously at her laptop when a blonde – the epitome of her stereotype – walked in her office. She certainly looked the part; she was young with big boobs, long hair, and a perky stride. This temp wasn't going to last minute. The interview went just as the Head of Security had predicted – to shit, and it even made her regret the decision to dye her hair from its natural brown.

The next temp was even worse. Alice had absolutely nothing against gay men, but this one was way too energetic and loud. The Head of Security didn't do noise and she didn't do gossip, which was all the man wanted to discuss. She thanked him for his interview, and followed him through the door to approach Jill. She walked behind the black-haired woman and whispered into her ear so the gay temp couldn't hear as he paraded out.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you sent me these…_people_, so I'd be forced to pick your sister-in-law as your replacement." Alice pulled back as Jill looked absolutely appalled and put a hand on her chest dramatically.

"Are you accusing me of abusing my powers to further the career a family member?"

The blonde woman folded her arms as she raised an eyebrow and Jill laughed.

"That is _exactly_ what I am accusing you of Valentine. You better hope she isn't better at your job than you are," Alice teased, "or I may just make her your permanent…"

The blonde didn't finish her statement because just then the next temp had arrived. She was something else. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a simple blouse, dark skirt, and heels. But what Alice liked most was that the temp didn't seem like she could chat her ear off, in fact, she looked rather smart and sophisticated.

Jill spoke to her in-law first, "hi Claire," then turned to Alice. "Mrs. Parks this is Ms. Redfield."

The redhead walked up to Alice and held out her hand; the blonde shook it with due formality and said, "why don't we talk in my office."

The two women stepped into the space; Alice sat at her chair and motioned for the temp to sit in the one across from her desk.

"Thank you for taking the time to see me Mrs. Parks," the redhead said.

Alice waved the procedures off, "you can just call me Alice. Jill speaks very highly of you."

Claire looked surprised. "She does? Oh, I hope I don't let her down. I mean that is assuming I even get the job, and if I keep talking like this I certainly won't…"

The blonde ginned and said reassuringly, "I'm sure you won't let her down."

"So I'm hired?"

Alice nodded, and Claire's smile glowed with radiance. The blonde rose from her chair and the redhead copied her.

"Now let's go talk to that sister-in-law of yours and work out the details."

"Yes, Mrs-"

Alice raised a playful eyebrow at the temp.

"I mean – yes, Alice." The two shared another smile and left the room.

As the women exited Alice's office, Jill got up from her seat careful not to jar her pregnant belly too much. She looked at Claire and saw the woman's bright mood.

"She's hired," Alice said though she was certain Jill didn't need the clarification. "I want Claire to shadow you for the rest of the week," she turned to the redhead suddenly, "that is if you can start right away?"

"Of course," Claire replied.

"Excellent."


	2. Attraction

Chapter 2: Attraction

_December 3, 2010_

_Even though I hardly know her – I'd do __anything__ for her. Just like she did for me._

Claire took to the job for the rest of the day with an efficiency and professionalism that impressed Alice. Before the blonde knew it, it was Friday. Jill was on the final shift before her leave of absence and they still hadn't received the necessary information from Wesker. Alice was restlessly tapping her fingers on her desk when the computer panel, attached to the camera outside her door, came to life with an image of the redhead standing at the entrance to her office. She held the call button down and spoke.

"Come in," Alice commanded and Claire entered hesitantly; it puzzled the blonde.

"This just came." The redhead brought over a large, sealed envelope.

"You'd think with all this sophisticated technology, he'd just send an email," Alice joked but it had no effect on Claire. Alice had assumed that this package was the information she'd been waiting for from Wesker. He was always so keen to use the holographic projector, but the second you sat him in front of a computer he'd freeze. The redhead's hands shook faintly as she handed Alice the envelope. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, n-nothing."

The temp had just stuttered and it bewildered Alice; something had obviously upset Claire. Then the blonde remembered just how Wesker usually delivered his information.

"Excuse me for a moment," Alice said and left Claire in her office. She thought she'd shut the door behind her, but there wasn't enough force behind the action and the latch caught leaving Claire to hear everything that followed.

Just as Alice had predicted, Rain was fiddling with her submachine gun, compulsively loading it and unloading it. Jill was nowhere to be found.

"Hey there, Alice."

The Head of Security folded her arms and Rain kept talking.

"That is one _fine_ piece of ass you got there."

Alice immediately invaded the soldier's personal space.

"You will treat Umbrella's employees with respect or I'll personally see to it that you no longer are one." The blonde knew the threat was completely worthless; the soldier was just too close to Wesker.

Rain laughed at the failed warning, "I'm just saying. Tell me you aren't attracted to her in the slightest." Alice wasn't; she was happily married and not even gay, but that wasn't the point. Claire was her responsibility.

"Get out."

"I'm leaving, but tell the little piece of eye-candy that if she ever wants a real career she'd better push up that skirt fast."

Alice clenched her fist as Rain moved swiftly to the door. No wonder Claire had been freaked out; Jill could've handled the soldier with practiced ease but she wasn't around. _Head of fucking Security and I can't even keep that stupid bitch out, _Alice thought; then Claire exited her office looking somewhat apprehensive.

"I'm very sorry about that," the blonde said with sincerity.

"It's ok." Claire put on a dim smile and Jill returned.

"I just ran into Rain," the assistant commented.

"You weren't the only one," Alice scoffed and turned back to her office. "I'll be going over the file Wesker sent." As she walked past the redhead she put a comforting hand on the back of her shoulder. For a second Alice thought she felt Claire lean into the touch, but the moment was over too fast.

The envelope contained lists of meeting times, modes of transportation, accommodations; the only thing needed on Alice's end was to send over a contingency of her operatives to receive their guests and get them settled into the Hive safely. She was debating who to send when her phone rang. The caller ID read: **Front Desk**. She picked up and Claire's voice emanated from the speaker.

"_Your husband is on line one."_

"Thank you, Claire."

"_You're welcome."_

Alice disconnected herself from the front desk and transferred to the other line.

"Hi sweetheart," the blonde said as she smiled.

"_Hey, how's work going?" _Spence replied.

"Oh, it's going."

"_You sound distressed, what's wrong?"_

"You know I can't talk about work with you," Alice said annoyed. This was always what they fought about. Spence wanted to know what Alice did all day; he knew small things but she couldn't divulge privileged information.

"_I know, I just thought that after being married for five years you'd be able to trust me-"_

"Trust you?" Alice was astonished, "_you_ want to talk about trust? What about the weekend in Detroit?"

"_I've apologized and apologized for that."_

Alice brought her hand to her face in displeasure as she said, "I know."

There was a pause in the conversation until Spence spoke again.

"_Anyways, I was just calling to see if we were still going to the Arcadia tonight."_

"If you made a reservation, then yes."

"_Ok, good. Well I'll see you when you get off work."_

Alice hung up the phone without saying goodbye and was close to losing it. Her anger rose just thinking about the weekend Spence had spent in Detroit and cheated on her. He had refused to tell her the name of the woman for fear that Alice would use her connections to do her harm, and he wasn't too far from the truth.

The blonde withdrew her mind from thinking of her husband, and turned it instead to putting together a team to collect Dr. Isaacs and his group. Olivera was her best soldier in the field and he was way past due for an assignment. Alice dialed the front desk and Claire picked up.

"_What can I do you for?"_

"Get Carlos Olivera down here, please."

"_You got it."_

Ten minutes later Carlos was opening the door and stepping into her office.

The soldier stood at attention near the desk and saluted Alice as she took her feet off the structure and unfolded her arms from behind the back of her head to speak.

"At ease." Carlos relaxed his stance and rested his arms behind him as the blonde continued, "I have a mission for you and the soldiers of your choosing; you'll need at least four, civilian dress. It's strictly a retrieval. A few Umbrella employees are getting off a plane in Detroit, 0800 hours, Monday. I need them here in one piece. That's all."

"Yes ma'am." Carlos saluted again and this time Alice rose to return the gesture.


	3. Crush

Chapter 3: Crush

_December 4, 2010_

_Last night was amazing. I think we really connected; I know I could feel something between us. Something wonderful. She must have felt it too._

The hotel/restaurant/bar was packed, but Alice wasn't surprised. It was a Friday night after all. She'd gotten out of work late and Spence wasn't in the mansion when she got there; she assumed that he'd already left for their date or that he hadn't gotten home from the hospital yet. She pulled up to the entrance, and shut off the engine of her silver Audi. A male valet approached the driver and his jaw dropped at the sight of her.

Alice was dressed to kill, and she certainly slayed them all. Her fur-lined coat opened up in the chilly December wind to reveal the scarlet fabric of a dress that clung to her skin, and left little to the imagination. Her side-swept hair was parted on the left, lightly curled and it lifted in the breeze as well. She smirked at the reaction of the valet and handed him the keys.

The blonde walked into the Arcadia through the restaurant entrance and made her way to the receptionist. Her tall boots echoed off the marble floor. The receptionist was also male and quite handsome. He gave her the once over, and it reminded Alice why she didn't go out by herself anymore. She could handle herself in any situation, of course, but she was tired of being objectified.

"How can I help you, beautiful?"

Alice purposefully put her left hand on the pedestal in front of the speaker. The diamond on her ring-finger put an immediate stop to his advances and she said cheerfully, "reservation under Parks."

The disappointed receptionist looked over his book and said, "ah yes. This way please." The man showed her to a candlelit table near the bar set for two. He pulled a chair out for Alice and immediately a server, also male, approached the woman.

"Good evening miss, my name is Mikey. Is there something I can start you with until your date arrives?" He handed her a menu as well as a list of specialty drinks.

"How do you know I'm on a date?"

"I hope you don't mind me saying, but a gorgeous woman like you – can't be here alone. Or at least won't be alone here for long."

Alice blushed lightly and for once didn't take offense, maybe it was because she found the man's Australian accent charming.

"So, can I start you with something to drink?" he asked.

The blonde took a look at the available wines.

"How about a glass of the cabernet sauvignon?"

"Very good choice, miss. I'll be right back with that."

The server left and Alice brought out her phone. She scrolled through her contact list until she got to Spence's name and hit the green call-button. It went straight to voicemail, but she didn't leave a message. The surgeon worked all hours and kept his phone off when he was in surgery; Alice hoped he would arrive soon.

By the time she finished her second glass of wine she glanced around the lavishly furnished area yet again. Multiple couples were laughing over their expensive meals. The only other people by themselves were sitting at the bar. Alice gazed at the backs of each of them. There was one man in a suit, a blonde woman in a green dress, an empty stool, a redhead in a black dress, another empty stool, another man in a suit – Alice froze and immediately backtracked. She looked at the middle of the line up for the woman in the black dress, but she'd vanished. Alice wondered if she had ever been there at all; she did just have two drinks on an empty stomach.

Alice glanced back down at her wine glass. She rolled the last swig of the red liquid restlessly in her hand, and sighed. She was about to down the last of her drink when she felt the air shift around her and suddenly the redhead in the black dress was at her side. Alice was surprised to see who it was.

"Claire?"

The woman was absolutely stunning. The long, shimmering dress showed off every curve and her obsidian heels toned her caves nicely. Her curled hair draped over the straps of the dress and cascaded onto her uncovered back.

The redhead smiled. "Hi, Alice."

"Please, have a seat," Alice motioned to the chair across from her, but Claire withdrew.

"Oh no, I couldn't. I don't want to be a bother. I saw you here and I was just stopping by to say hello."

"It's no trouble, really."

Claire conceded to the blonde's request. "Ok"

"You look…absolutely amazing."

"Alice," Claire turned her face away to hide the blush rising to her cheeks.

When the blonde was finally able to focus on something other than how beautiful Claire was, she wondered why the other woman was here. _Is it possible that she was listening in on my phone call with Spence? Even so, why show up here? Maybe her date is gone too – _Alice's thoughts were interrupted when Mikey approached the women again. He smiled politely at the redhead as he filled up Alice's glass a third time.

The server then said to Alice cheerily, "I told you. How could your date resist a beauty like yourself?" The blonde missed the connotation the first time around, but as he continued speaking she caught on. "And if I may say so, she is just as lovely."

"Oh, we're not-" Alice tried to correct the man but again Claire was blushing, and in her inebriated state the blonde was too distracted to finish her sentence.

Mikey went back into server mode and asked Claire, "shall I pour another glass of the cabernet?" The redhead looked to Alice for the answer.

It was clear now that Spence was not coming, and Alice really didn't want to spend anymore of her evening alone. It was probably the wine talking but at this point she didn't care.

"Please," she answered, and Claire smiled as she gazed into the blonde's eyes. Mikey grabbed the redhead's glass, and the wine flowed into it neatly.

"Do you two need a few minutes to order?"

Alice had chosen long ago what she wanted to eat, but she took the few minutes so Claire could decide. As the redhead looked over the menu the blonde initiated a conversation she never would've had, had she been sober.

"So, how do you like working for me?"

"I love it," Claire stated simply.

"You love it?" Alice was taken aback; she hadn't expected that answer.

"You stood up for me today. No one's ever done that before."

It should have troubled Alice to learn that Claire had overheard her discussion with Rain considering her office was completely sound proof, or at the very least puzzled her. But the alcohol was in her blood, and she was losing control of herself with every sip.

"No one should talk about you like that," Alice said as she took hold of Claire's empty hand that had been resting on the table. The redhead zeroed in on their joined hands until Alice released hers to pronounce her next statement with a gesture. "Rain's just an uptight _bitch_, pissed that _I_ replaced her as Head of Security," the words were spoken with a slight animosity and slur. It was as if she'd lost her filter; she'd never spoken ill of a coworker except to Jill.

Following the inebriated comment, Mikey returned to take their order and was back with their meal not long after that. The food was enjoyable, and it sobered Alice to the point that she was content to just listen as Claire told her about herself. Spence called her phone three times, but Alice let it go to voicemail unconcerned; the younger woman was too good of company to interrupt her to take the call.

Two more glasses of red wine found their way into Alice's stomach; whatever clear-headedness the food had instilled in her was offset again, and the night had grown quite mature. The blonde paid the bill and tipped Mikey well.

"You know it's really late," Alice said. "My husband is probably wondering where the fuck I am." The blonde woman rose and teetered on her feet. The redhead stood to help and steadied her with an arm placed lightly on her side.

"You're not going to drive, are you?" Claire asked with concern.

"Well, I can't exactly take a cab to the mansion," Alice joked. "Gotta do a background check on the driver, get him special clearance." The blonde was laughing now. "Blind fold him till we get there!" Claire chuckled at her drunken boss.

"Don't worry; I'll get you where you want to go."

Alice raised an eyebrow mischievously, and couldn't stop the words coming from her mouth. "Oh – I have a feeling you would."

Claire wrapped her arm a little tighter around the blonde and they walked outside together. The valet brought them Alice's sports car, and Claire helped Alice into the passenger side. She walked around the car and sat herself in the driver's seat. Then she pulled on her seatbelt and turned to Alice.

"Seatbelt, please?"

"_Fuck_ seatbelts." The older woman folded her arms over her chest in stubborn will. "Just because _I'm _a security operative – does not mean that I have to be _secured._"

"Alice…" the younger woman pleaded but the blonde still made no move to put on her seatbelt, so Claire reached across and grabbed the buckle. She fastened the strap quickly and put the car in gear. The radio played softly in the background until Alice picked up the familiar chords of "Lips of an Angel." She practically jumped to get to the volume control and her seatbelt tightened, holding her back from her destination. Claire laughed and rotated the knob for her passenger.

"I _love _this song!" Alice exclaimed and then without inhibition began to sing along, surprisingly in key. "_Girl you make it hard to be faithful, with the lips of an angel_."

There was a break between choruses and Claire chimed in.

"It's a pretty good song."

"Pretty good? It's the best," the blonde argued and started singing again. "_It's really good to hear your voice – saying my name – it sounds so sweet._"

Claire was happy to listen to the blonde as she sang the rest of song; she hit all the notes and only flubbed the words once. The rest of the drive was spent in comfortable silence because Alice had fallen asleep.

The blonde was roused by a childlike voice when they pulled up to the gates of the mansion. Claire was talking to a computer panel that extended out from the gate and the Red Queen addressed the temp in her British accent.

"_Objective, please."_

"I'm dropping off Alice," the redhead stated.

"_Vehicle scan complete. Voice confirmed. Authorization granted. Might I ask how you are going to return to your home?"_

Alice hadn't thought about that, luckily her program was smarter than her.

"You can just take the car. I'll send someone tomorrow to pick yours up from the hotel and swap," the blonde said.

"Ok." Claire pulled into the roundabout and put the car into park. As the blonde got out so did she. She met Alice on her side of the car and walked her to the door.

"You know – I actually had a good time tonight," Alice said as they paused at the door.

"Me too." It looked like Claire was waiting for something, but Alice had no idea what.

"Have a good night." The blonde felt drawn into Claire's green eyes.

"You too," Claire said and abruptly turned around to leave. Alice hadn't been quite ready for her to go, so she spoke as Claire opened the driver's side door.

"Wear your seatbelt."

Claire looked up at Alice, but the blonde couldn't read the expression on her face.

"_Fuck _seatbelts." The redhead winked and got into the car. She drove away and left Alice somewhat perplexed on the veranda.

**I would like to take a moment and remind my readers that you should always wear your seatbelt...even if you are a security operative. :)**


	4. Desire

Chapter 4: Desire

_December 5, 2010_

_It's been far too long since I have seen her face. I've hated this weekend apart; I'm sure she has too. I wonder how many times she picked up her phone to call me but was too shy or didn't know what to say…probably as many times as I did, if not more. _

It was going to be a busy Monday for Alice, it was the day the scientists from the Death Valley facility showed up, and that meant filing all the necessary paper work to get the employees proper clearance, updating the Red Queen with their files, images, and other personal information. As well as running them through the correct procedures of how to access all they would need within the Hive. Jill wouldn't be there to help her with any of it, but Alice was confident that Claire could pick up the slack.

The blonde hadn't thought much about the evening they'd spent together at the Arcadia. There had been too many other things going on. She'd gotten into a huge fight with Spence about that night. The surgeon had called when his emergency operation concluded, and when Alice didn't answer he went to the restaurant. The receptionist claimed that his date never showed and that his table had been given to another couple. The blonde flat out refused to tell him why she didn't return his calls and that she actually had been at the restaurant. He'd kept things from her so she thought that perhaps it was time to return the favor. She'd never go so low as to cheat on him, but she could and would let him think that he had something to worry about.

Claire beat her to the office and was sitting in Jill's usual spot.

"Good morning," Claire said happily as Alice walked through the door.

"Morning. We'll be excepting Carlos around noon, please inform me when they get here."

"Of course."

Alice walked back to her office door and like every morning she swiped her ID and entered her code. The security to gain access into her office wasn't nearly as complicated as some of the other systems around the structure, but Alice figured if an infiltrator could make it past all of those uninhibited and into the lowest tier of the Hive, that there wasn't much else that could be done to stop them. Not to mention all the employees hated the security checks; they took a lot of time. So Alice decided that the best way to go about it was to have the major checks at the entrances, a simpler system throughout most of the interior, and some special 'surprises' awaiting anyone daring enough to make it into the lower, high-priority levels. The Red Queen was protected with one such trap – the laser room. The blonde had not been behind that particular project; that was all Rain. Alice was however, taken aback when she saw a dozen red roses waiting for her on the desk.

Suddenly Claire was behind her and explaining, "don't worry, I checked them out. They're safe."

Alice deduced that the redhead had been there to receive them. Spence had a few friends that worked in the Hive who could have easily brought them to the front desk, and Claire put them in her office, but that would also mean that she'd bypassed Alice's security. _Jill probably just gave her the code, _the blonde reasoned and turned her attention back to the flowers. Claire went back to her desk and Alice approached the bouquet. They were beautiful, and she assumed it was her husband's attempt at an apology or an early birthday present. She looked for a card among the roses but found none; still, she would have to call Spence later to thank him.

When Carlos arrived with his mission complete, Alice and Claire settled Dr. Isaacs and his team into the Hive easily. Work on the Progenitor virus would begin tomorrow and Alice was anxious to know just what they planned to do with it, but that would remain confidential until Wesker deemed it necessary to tell her. She may not have known the details, but it would be a lie to say she didn't have an idea of their final goal. If the Umbrella Corporation could weaponize something they would do so without hesitation. Alice was just thankful to not be the enemy their arsenal was used on.

It was nearly 4 p.m. when the Head of Security made her way to the Red Queen's central computer. She dreaded that she had to go through the laser room to get there, or as Rain would call it: the laser-tag room. She claimed the idea was inspired by a game of laser-tag, the lasers in the game and the room being something you majorly wanted to avoid. The first time the trap was up and running Rain, who was Head of Security at the time, showed it off to a few of her subordinates; one of which was Alice. Rain had been describing how the room functioned in bloody detail; then made everyone stare into the room through the open door. When it was Alice's turn, Rain snuck up behind her, said 'tag you're it!' pushed her into the lit room, and then closed the reinforced door behind her. Rain left her there alone for hours, and every time one of the fluorescent lights would flicker Alice's breathing hitched.

The blonde swallowed as she entered the room now. She only needed to get to the Queen, download the updated files for the visiting scientists, and get out. As was protocol the reinforced door shut behind her and as was typical the lights waivered. At the other end, the door to the Queen opened and Alice walked swiftly to it. She took a deep breath as she set about her business and readied herself to walk through the lit room again.

After that, Alice sent for Carlos to discuss how the mission went and to get his take on the new arrivals. According to the soldier there was nothing out of the ordinary about the pick up or the scientists. The blonde was about to dismiss him when he made her a casual offer.

"Some of the guys and I are going out for drinks tonight at the Arcadia."

Alice wasn't surprised to hear that they were going to the Arcadia; the place was often frequented by Hive employees. It was a popular hangout, a little on the expensive side, but if you worked for Umbrella in Raccoon City – you could afford it. Most people would go for the whole package the place had to offer; they'd eat, get trashed, and then rent a room to sleep it off.

"You're drinking on a Monday night?"

"Well, we have tomorrow off, so we thought what the hell." Carlos shrugged.

Alice looked at the roses now in a vase at the end of her desk and said, "I'll have to check in with the ol' ball and chain, but I think I can make it."

"Is it cool if I invite Claire? I mean, if she's got too much work to do or something-"

The blonde cut him off. "Nah, go on ahead. It'll be good for her to get to know some of the other employees."

Carlos smiled. "Cool. Well I'll see you later then."

"Yes sir, you will."

Right after the soldier left, a holographic projection of Wesker appeared behind her.

"Report," the figure commanded and Alice nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Wesker! Fuck, I hate it when you do that!"

Neither Alice nor Wesker could believe she had just spoken to him that way.

"Report soldier!"

Alice swallowed and tried to recover from her outburst. "The Death Valley team arrived without issue. They begin work on the Progenitor virus tomorrow."

"Why aren't they working on it now?"

"It takes at least twelve hours for the Red Queen to adjust protocols to their needs."

Wesker bristled at Alice's answer, and the blonde wondered briefly if she was about to lose her job.

"That is something you should have taken care of earlier," he scolded. Never mind that the files Rain delivered were outdated, and collecting accurate information from the scientists themselves had needed to take place before it could be entered into the Red Queen's system. "Maybe I made a mistake placing you in charge." Luckily for her, Alice's clenched fists were hidden beneath her desk as she fought to keep her reaction neutral. "Disappoint me again and the consequences will be severe." Wesker's image faded away, and Alice pounded her fist on the desk.

Terrorizing and threatening was a constant for Wesker, which is why he and Rain got along so well. Alice considered calling Jill, the assistant could always cheer her up after encounters like this, but she didn't want to bother the woman on her first day of leave. Suddenly the computer panel next to her came to life with an image of Claire.

"_Can I come in?"_

Alice held down the call button to answer. "Yeah, sure."

Claire opened the door to see Alice holding her head in her hands.

"Are you ok?"

The blonde looked up and stared at the woman.

"This room is completely soundproof and has no video surveillance, how did you know I wasn't?" Alice accused the temp, but Claire took it in stride.

"I saw the transmission code from Wesker's office to yours on the computer out there. Jill said he liked to give you a hard time."

"Oh, I'm sorry." The blonde sighed and rested her head back in her hands. She suddenly felt warm hands on her shoulders as the redhead's fingers began to work out the tension in her muscles. It felt good, too good. She placed a hand onto Claire's to still her motions. "Thank you, but I need to get back to work."

"Anytime," Claire smiled as she left Alice's office.


	5. Lust

**There are some song lyrics in this chapter: "Satellite" by OceanLab. I encourage you to look it up if you want to. And as always enjoy the chapter. :)**

Chapter 5: Lust

_December 6, 2010_

_I decided to buy Alice a dozen roses to thank her for our date, and she loved them. Too bad Wesker ruined her good mood. I really don't like the way he treats her, like she's worthless; no good. I'm beginning to think that all of the men in her life let her down. Spence cheated on her with some slut and it nearly killed her. But I would never do anything to hurt her. Maybe tonight I can make it up to her._

Spence had been more than willing to let Alice go out for some drinks. So she met the guys at the Aracdia's second bar, named the Deck. It was set up more like a club, complete with a DJ and a dance floor. Carlos waved her over to the bar where he was ordering drinks. Alice laughed when she saw how similarly they were dressed. They were both wearing jet-black leather jackets, dark jeans, and boots. She had chosen that outfit solely because she knew she'd be less likely to get hit on.

"I'm glad you made it!" Carlos practically shouted over the blaring music. "What do you want to drink?" He put an arm around Alice's shoulder, and it displaced the raised collar of her jacket.

"What are you guys doing?" she yelled back.

Carlos leaned in so he didn't have to raise his voice and said, "shots of Jack."

"I'll take two," Alice held up two fingers to get her message across and Carlos smiled mischievously. The soldier placed the order as the rest of his group began to crowd the bar.

When the drinks arrived Alice downed the shots one after another and relished in the familiar burn of a warming gut. She'd hoped to dull the edge of her bad day with liquor and good company. _So far, so good, _Alice thought and then Claire walked up to the bar. Again she was dressed attractively; her low-cut top displayed an ample amount of cleavage, and her short skirt and heels slenderized her already perfect legs. Alice would be shocked if she learned that the redhead was still somehow single.

"Hey," Claire said over the music and the cheerful banter of the guys around them.

"How are you?" Alice leaned in and asked.

"I'm good, but I wasn't really sure if I was going to come tonight."

"Why not?" the blonde puzzled as she breathed in the redhead's intoxicating perfume.

"Well, it's not like I've been here that long," the redhead shrugged.

"I'm sure everyone's glad you showed up."

Claire met Alice's blue eyes.

"Even you?"

"Even me?" Alice asked rhetorically. "I'm your number one fan around here. Although," the blonde looked at Claire's revealing outfit again, "I have a feeling that after tonight I won't be your only fan."

"Oh, I didn't dress up for anyone else."

The comment confused Alice, but she chalked it up to not being able to hear very well thanks to the loud dance music. A couple more shots were passed around, and Claire joined the boys in the drinking like a seasoned expert. Suddenly the DJ changed songs and a new beat filled Alice's ears. Claire tugged on Alice's arm.

"Come on! If I have to listen to you sing then you have to dance with me!" the temp said joyfully.

The blonde smiled and allowed herself to be pulled onto the dance floor. The song was truly captivating. Alice could feel it enter her ears and pulsate into her core, blocking every possible thought.

_My love is like footsteps in the snow, baby._

_I follow you everywhere you go, baby._

_The pain as light has come to wake you, but you will never realize _

_that I inspire the dreams that guide you, baby._

Alice couldn't keep herself from moving in time to the music alongside Claire. They were in the middle of the floor and completely surrounded by other swaying bodies.

_I follow the winds that bring the cold, baby._

_I light a fire in your soul, baby._

_The lightest touch of feathers falling._

_My love may be invisible,_

_but I inspire the dreams that guide you, baby._

The redhead moved with seductive grace, and closed the already small distance between her and Alice. Every time their bodies touched the blonde felt like she was on fire. The redhead turned her back to Alice and pressed their bodies together. The blonde placed her hands on the woman's rocking hips like a reflex. She closed her eyes as the song went through its final verse.

_You're half a world away,_

_but in my mind I whisper every single word you say,_

_and before you sleep at night_

_you pray to me – your lucky star, your singing satellite._

The song came to an end and Alice noticed that the two were no longer dancing among strangers. Carlos, Nicholai, and Kaplan surrounded the pair and had more than likely gotten a very good show. The blonde needed air – fast. She excused herself quickly and left the hotel to go outside. Alice walked a little ways to get away from the crowded entrance, and leaned against the side of the building. Her ears were ringing softly after being assaulted by the deafening music as snow began to fall.

Headlights from passing cars illuminated her, reflected off the descending snowflakes, and then continued on their way. Alice's head was swimming with confusion; she tried to pawn off her reaction on booze and loud music. She pulled at her collar to keep out the bite of the cold and another car passed her by, but its lights also highlighted an approaching figure. The blonde panicked slightly, and put a hand behind her back and under her coat to settle on the pistol tucked in her waistband. As the stranger neared, Alice realized that it was Claire, so she took her fingers off the gun.

The redhead drew closer with every step, her hair and shoulders collected bits of the white snowfall, but she said nothing and her face was expressionless. Claire walked right up to the blonde, placed one hand beside Alice's face on the wall behind her, and snaked the other around her neck. The blonde was frozen and could do nothing as Claire drew their lips together like a magnet. Claire's kiss was passionate and Alice felt herself wanting to respond to the flames, but she resisted. She pulled her mouth away after a moment and spoke.

"Claire-"

Alice looked directly into Claire's desire filled eyes and the redhead kissed her again. She didn't exactly respond but she didn't stop her either. Claire became bold, and pushed their bodies together as she pulled her hand back from the wall to place it delicately where the hem of Alice's shirt met the waistband of her jeans. A light flashed behind the blonde's closed eyes as a car drove by and again she withdrew.

"Stop. Don't do this," Alice said and she was sure she was trembling.

"Why?"

"We just can't do this," the blonde forced the redhead off her and began to walk away.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Claire pleaded.

Alice glanced behind her shoulder and said solemnly, "you've got the wrong idea." The vapor of her warm breath condensed into a white fog and then dissipated when she turned her head swiftly back around.

The blonde left Claire out in the cold, and when she got to the front of the hotel demanded her car from the nearest valet. She impatiently tapped her foot on the cement as she waited for her Audi. Alice heard the distinct rumble of her finely-tuned machine and practically jumped the driver. He couldn't get out fast enough for her, so she helped him in the form of opening the door and yanking him out. She slammed the door and impulsively grabbed for her seatbelt. As her hand settled on the clasp she said angrily, "fuck seatbelts," and released it. She put the car in drive and pealed out onto the street.


	6. Fixation

Chapter 6: Fixation

_December 7, 2010_

_I must've moved too fast for her. That's ok, I can be patient. I've already waited my entire life for her; I can wait a little longer. _

Alice was anxious about going to work the next morning. She was already in hot water with Wesker, and that _thing _with Claire was wreaking havoc on her stress level. The blonde desperately wanted to call Jill, but she couldn't talk about the situation with her. Again Claire had beaten Alice into tier eight and was waiting good-naturedly for her boss to arrive.

"Good morning," the redhead greeted.

Alice cautiously responded, "morning."

"I think I owe you an apology for last night."

The blonde immediately tensed; her nerves coiled even tighter.

"We both had a few drinks. Just forget it."

"What if I can't?"

"Claire," Alice's fingers were going numb from lack of blood flow. "Nothing happened," the blonde said firmly, and a look of surrender passed over the redhead's features.

"Alright, nothing happened." Claire turned her face away and went back to the papers on her desk. The blonde went to her office and saw the day-old roses on her desk in a new light, what she didn't see was the tear that slid down the redhead's cheek when she left.

Alice put the roses straight into the incinerator that was usually for sensitive documents in the corner of her office. She set the knob to max and watched the crimson petals become consumed by the inferno. The blonde had been devastated when she learned that Spence was unfaithful. _This isn't the same. I'm not a lesbian,_ Alice thought and then dropped the subject from her mind entirely. There was work she needed to tend to.

Wesker hounded Alice with his presence every day for the rest of the week. He had never been around so much in all her time as Head of Security. The man drilled her incessantly about her security protocols, and he was under the impression that they weren't good enough. He demanded Alice begin a modification for the Red Queen's software. As it was the system could not make executive decisions without Alice's approval; Wesker decided that was too inefficient, so a revision was in order. The blonde completed the update with reluctance. Letting a computer program, even one she designed, choose the best course of action in all situations unhindered made Alice nervous so she installed several new override features and still programmed the A.I. to inform her of all important actions undertaken; both were done without Wesker's knowledge.

During all of this Claire was the perfect assistant; always on time, always completed her assignments without fuss, and made not a single advance towards the blonde. Alice still kept her distance, but was more than relieved that their working relationship remained strictly professional. The blonde had absolutely no idea how to label what had happened; what it meant, so she didn't. The only thing that had come from it was an uncomfortable tension between Alice and everyone she came across. Carlos or other coworkers had invited her out for drinks almost every night after work. She refused the offers claiming that she wanted to spend some time with her husband before he had to go to his conference over the weekend, but she hadn't even slept with Spence once the entire week and that just wasn't like her.

The blonde vowed to change that tonight. It was Friday again, and that meant Spence was on call and the next morning he would leave for Chicago. So long as there were no emergencies, Alice would seduce him in an attempt to get her life back to normal.

Alice cut out of the Hive early leaving Claire to finish the business for the day. As the train ascended to the mansion the blonde thought she saw one of the surveillance cameras focus on her from the corner of her eye, but when she looked up it continued its sweeping rotation of the car and didn't stop again. She shrugged internally and didn't think much of it.

The blonde greeted her husband with a chaste kiss when she entered the kitchen and saw him preparing supper.

"How was your day, baby?" Alice questioned sincerely as she jumped on the counter to sit beside the stove where Spence was cooking chicken.

"Completely and utterly boring without you."

The response made Alice smile and Spence returned it with affection. She motioned him over seductively with her index finger, and Spence settled between her legs. Thanks to the counter, the blonde was taller than her husband. She brought both of her hands to hold his face and kissed him passionately. For the first few moments the kiss was familiar, but the experience started to change. Alice could no longer feel the stubble on Spence's jaw, his lips became softer, and the fervor of his actions increased; suddenly the kiss was completely foreign and Alice enjoyed it.

When the blonde pulled back from the kiss she'd unconsciously expected to green eyes looking back at her; when brown eyes greeted her instead she instantly became unsettled. If her husband noticed he didn't show it. He turned his attention back to the food and Alice hopped down to set the table as well as bury her unease with some distance from Spence.

The dinner was relatively quiet and Alice hardly ate; she mostly just pushed her food around with her fork. She was still resolved to have sex with Spence, and it wasn't late enough to go to bed so the two settled onto their living room couch and put in a movie with absolutely no intent to watch it.

The make-out session quickly escalated into the usual touching and groping. Alice's clothes were lost next, and as Spence put his hands on his wife's stomach and brought them up to cup her breasts they transformed. Spence's fingers turned un-callused and his hands became delicate as their motions were much more sensual than Alice had ever known them to be before. The blonde moaned at the touch and it prompted Spence to speak.

"Glad to know I can still make you feel this way." He kissed her neck and said amused, "I was beginning to wonder if maybe you were getting some action from someone on the side."

Alice instantly stilled as her arousal went cold, and Spence noticed. He brought himself on his elbows to try and salvage the situation.

"Shit. I didn't mean it like that."

"Get off me," Alice growled and started to push him out of the way. The man moved enough to let her slip away. She grabbed her fallen clothing and said angrily, "I'm not like you!" As she stormed out of the room Spence yelled back for her, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Alice, wait! Come on!"

The blonde dropped her clothes in the bathroom and walked right into the shower. She twisted the handle and water poured from the spigot above her head. The scolding liquid soaked its way through her skin, but it couldn't wash away the disgust she felt. She didn't know what repulsed her more – her husband…or herself.


	7. Possession

Chapter 7: Possession

_December 10, 2010_

_I said I could be patient, but how long will I be forced to wait? All week I didn't do a thing to hint at my feelings for her, but all she does is grow more distant. She's acting like a stranger, and it can't continue. I can't let her drive us apart. I won't._

When Alice awoke the next morning there was a piece of paper and a small box tied with a scarlet ribbon on Spence's pillow. It took her a minute to remember that it was her birthday and that Spence had left very early for his flight to Chicago. Her first impulse was to be excited, but then she remembered the ambiguity of the roses on her desk and grabbed for the note with caution. It was a simple greeting from her husband wishing her a good birthday. Alice sighed a little and picked up the jewelry box. Spence was horrible at picking out presents, but she always acted surprised and grateful for whatever she received. This time it was no performance.

Inside the box was a beautiful diamond necklace; gorgeous in its simplicity and uniqueness. Alice had no doubt in her mind that it cost a small fortune. She only hoped she had fine enough clothes to wear with it tonight at her party. Eventually the blonde settled on a black, strapless dress.

Alice was 25 today, and not one of her friends would let her forget it. When she arrived Carlos, Jill, Chris and about a dozen other of her friends were already at the Deck, but one face was noticeably absent. She walked up to Jill and the two hugged in greeting.

"I see you still haven't lost that baby-bump," Alice joked.

"I see you're still two years older than me," Jill scoffed back and the blonde chuckled. "Don't worry, when this kid pops out you'll be the first to know."

"Well, I knew we were close, but isn't that something you should share with your husband?" The comment got Alice a light punch on the arm from Jill and a laugh from Chris.

"You are such a smartass!" Jill responded. "Happy birthday, Alice." Suddenly the blonde was hounded by birthday greetings from her friends and she smiled or said thank you to them all. Alice did a celebratory shot with everyone, except for Jill who was drinking water.

A half hour later, Jill pulled Alice aside claiming that they urgently needed some time for girl talk. The two walked into the cold and stood outside of the Arcadia, and the black-harried woman's demeanor became serious.

"What do you know about progress on the Progenitor virus?"

"Jill," Alice scolded. "You know we can't talk about that – especially here."

"I don't think you understand what's going on. I didn't want to include you in this and neither did Chris, but I think I have to." Jill took a steadying breath and Alice became anxious. "Umbrella doesn't just experiment on animals. They have people; adults and…children."

"What? No," Alice denied. "If there were people entering the Hive and not leaving – I would know about it." Jill just shook her head.

"I promise you it's the truth. Wesker wants to use the virus to stop death. He's been pulling people off the streets. Hell, even from inside the company and injecting them with strands of the virus. Most just die, but some mutate. It's disgusting." Jill shook her head and continued her rant, "but imagine the power that would give him. Rich men would bleed through the nose for a shot of immortality. Wesker wants it for himself, but he also plans to create the perfect soldier; one immortal man trained to kill and who could wipe out entire fucking armies." Jill sighed with pessimism, "so far – he's been unsuccessful."

"What are you saying?" Alice questioned, fearful of the mutiny she was certain she was about to hear.

"People weren't meant to live forever, and I'm saying that no one should have that kind of power."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"I have some contacts. If I can get them the virus we can expose Umbrella."

"We?" Alice raised an uncertain eyebrow.

"I need your help," Jill pleaded.

The blonde shook her head in disbelief, but Jill continued. "If Chris's sperm hadn't been such a damn-good swimmer, I would have stolen the virus already."

The comment had the desired effect on Alice and she laughed.

"I don't know, Jill. You realize what you're asking me right? Hell, now that you told me – I have no choice but to get involved."

"So I guess the question is – where do your loyalties lie?"

Alice nodded. She'd already decided what she was going to do, but now she was thinking about the consequences. When she was ready, the blonde spoke solemnly.

"I'll do what I can to take this corporation down."

Jill pulled Alice into a tight hug, unconcerned that her pregnant belly had made the move quite awkward. When the black-haired woman released her, Alice asked, "is Claire involved in this?"

"God no. Chris wouldn't even speak of it. He'd let his prego-wife take the risk, but heaven forbid something should happen to his sister." Jill chuckled and Alice laughed alongside her falsely. "Come on," Jill entwined their arms and kept talking. "It's still your birthday, let's get you inside."

It was close to 10 p.m. when Chris and Jill left, but before they did so the assistant and her new accomplice decided to meet tomorrow at noon. The party was still going strong; Alice drank only enough to feel buzzed while the rest of her friends drank enough to practically clean out the bar. Carlos brought her a rum and coke from his latest alcohol trip, and then left her on the guise that a very attractive woman had been eyeing him from across the dance floor and he was going to go check it out.

The blonde took a drink and set the glass down on the bar behind her. She watched with delight as Carlos made a fool of himself.

"Happy birthday, Alice." The blonde nearly jumped out of her skin at the appearance of the redhead she'd not seen all evening, but still managed a polite reply.

"Thank you, Claire."

"I see you're wearing the necklace I got you."

Alice looked down at the jewelry around her neck and swallowed with uncertainty as she said, "my husband got this for me."

"You think Spence picked that out for you?" Claire said amused. "Sure, he may have bought it, but it was my idea. If I hadn't suggested it to him, you wouldn't be wearing it right now."

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but I want you to understand something." Alice said each word with careful pronunciation and growing anger, "there is nothing going on between us. I am not a lesbian, and I would never jeopardize my job with a co-worker." For some reason Alice left out that she didn't want to jeopardize her marriage either.

"Relax, Janus."

"What did you just say?" The blonde's heart pounded in her chest.

The redhead reached for Alice's drink on the bar and took a sip.

"How do you know my name?" Alice asked. She hadn't heard her birth name spoken in a long time. Janus Prospero, according to a death certificate and a headstone, had died when she was 17.

"I know a lot of things about you."

In order for Claire to have been of any use to Alice, she would of course need some experience with how security systems worked, but Alice had underestimated the redhead's knowledge and skills, and it frightened her. The Head of Security racked her brain for any excuse to fire the temp, but she had no evidence of misdeeds and she wasn't even sure that would get rid of her. Not to mention Jill and Chris would want to know why.

"For example," Claire continued, "I know for a fact that you are gay." The redhead turned her back to Alice appearing to look at Carlos. "And that right now- you've got a hand on your gun."

Alice's breathing hitched. She hadn't moved until the redhead looked away, yet her comment was spot on. Sure that she was going to regret it, the blonde removed her hand from the weapon on her thigh and Claire turned back to her.

"One of us has to take control, and I guess it's me." Claire smiled seductively and placed Alice's drink back on the bar. "Say goodnight to Carlos and the others, and I'll be waiting in my room. 610."

"I'm not going to your room," the blonde stated. "You're crazy…sick." Her next words were filled with a surprising amount of concern. "You need help."

"I know," Claire looked down almost ashamed. "I need help," she moved in closer. "Help me, Alice," she said, her voice dripping with allure as she pressed herself against the blonde.

"Stay away from me," Alice commanded as Carlos made his way back over with the woman he'd been talking to. The redhead backed off and let out a little, musical laugh.

"You play your games, Janus…" Claire glanced at the approaching soldier and then turned her eyes back to Alice, "and I'll play mine."

The blonde swallowed involuntarily, and the redhead walked away. Carlos and his companion were beside her a couple seconds later.

"Where's she off to?" Carlos asked with a slur, and as was typical of a drunk immediately forgot that he was waiting for an answer. "Alice, I want you to meet…what's your name again?"

The blonde shook her head to try and clear it. Her throat was completely dry so she picked up her rum and coke and took a long swallow without seeing the effervescing substance on the bottom of the glass. The cold liquid seemed to calm her a little so she turned her attention back to the solider. She'd completely missed the beginning of the conversation but it was the woman who was speaking now and as Alice looked at her she was sure the girl could be no older than 17.

"So there I was, in fucking K-mart of all places-"

Alice tried to pay attention to the girl, but she simply couldn't. Her throat was so dry. She kept drinking from the glass until it was empty and by the end of it she was feeling good. Alice, Carlos, and the other girl; the blonde had missed her name so she simply referred to her as K-mart, continued to chat the rest of the evening. K-mart had left around midnight claiming that she had a school project to work on, and after that Alice teased Carlos without end.

"How was I supposed to know she was only 16?" Carlos questioned with drunk amusement.

"Uh – how about by looking at her!" Alice laughed wholeheartedly and would've fallen off her bar stool if not for the soldier's steadying arm.

"You are absolutely gone."

"That last drink kicked my ass!"

"Let's get us some rooms, cause ain't no fucking way we're getting home tonight!" Carlos was struggling to contain his laughter as the pair stumbled to the hotel front desk. The soldier walked Alice to her room and then went to his own.

The blonde didn't turn on the lights. She just collapsed onto her back on the soft bed without bothering to get under the covers or even take off her shoes. Her disorientation was getting even worse though she wasn't moving. She heard a noise but the room was spinning too much for her to know where it was coming from. Alice closed her eyes to see if she could place the sound with her ears. She heard it again but her senses were erratic; they came and went like ocean waves.

"Who's there?" Alice reached unsteadily for the gun strapped under her dress to her thigh, but a hand was placed over hers and it gently removed hers from the weapon. She opened her eyes as she felt the bed shift around her. The blonde saw Claire completely naked and straddling her midsection. The redhead smiled seductively and placed a finger on her captive's lips.

"Shh."

"No…" Alice said groggily and could speak no more.

"Hush, baby. I'm going to take real good care of you."

The blonde tried to resist but she no longer commanded her actions. The last thing she felt was Claire's soft lips on her own before everything faded into blackness.


	8. Destruction

Chapter 8: Destruction

_December 12, 2010_

_It's all for her. It's all only ever been for her. I would die for her._

Alice inhaled her waking breath and thought that her head should be hurting, but it was remarkably free of pain. She hadn't opened her eyes yet; she was still trying to account for her clear head and the unfamiliar sheets wrapped around her naked body. She remembered drinking with Carlos, getting a room, and then – Alice jumped into action and reached for the gun under her pillow, but it wasn't there.

"Morning," Claire said with a look of complete bliss.

The blonde vacated the bed immediately, and more importantly put distance between her and the redhead.

"You have to get out of here!" Alice demanded full of panic. There was a white-silk robe on the floor so she put it on as Claire rose on her elbows beneath the sheets.

"What are you talking about?" she asked confused.

"Leave!" The blonde saw Claire's dress on the floor next to her own and began to feel sick. "Get out!"

"Alice, come on…" the redhead pleaded as she got up. The blonde had to look away from Claire's naked form so she picked up the redhead's garment and thrust it into the woman's arms.

"I want you out of here!"

"Why? Are you worried somebody's going to catch us?" Claire questioned as she slipped the dress back on her exposed skin.

"Just get the fuck out." The blonde was shaking with fury and shock.

"Someone's a little grumpy this morning." Claire adjusted the strap of her dress and the blonde took a strong hold of her arm, opened the door, and forced her out. "Alice, what is wrong with you?"

Alice ignored the redhead and slammed the door; then she turned around and rammed her back against it. She wanted to scream, but she settled for collapsing to the floor with her face in her hands.

"Fuck…fuck…fuck," her words were both reprimanding and begging. Every muscle in her body trembled as her powerlessness overwhelmed her.

Minutes passed, but to Alice it felt like hours until there was a knock on the door behind her.

"Alice, it's Carlos."

_Thank god, _Alice thought. She didn't know what she would have done had it been the redhead outside her door.

"Give me a sec," she shouted back.

Alice quickly redressed, and found her gun in the topmost dresser drawer. She checked to see if it was still loaded, attached it to the strap on her thigh, and went to open the door. Behind it was the soldier in the same clothes he had on the night before.

"Shit, Alice. You look like hell!" The blonde felt like hell, and couldn't stop herself from rushing into Carlos's arms. He instantly reacted to his hurting friend and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Alice said as a single tear found its way on her check.

"Nothing, hu?" Carlos wasn't convinced, but he knew Alice wouldn't say a damn word until she was ready; she was pretty stubborn like that.

"Probably just drank way too fucking much," she justified with a lie.

"I hear that. Am I remembering correctly, or did I almost have to change my name to Defendant last night?" That got the laugh Carlos was looking for from Alice as she pulled herself from the embrace.

"Yes, yes you almost did," she replied as she grinned at the thought of Carlos and K-mart.

"So, you're meeting with Jill and Chris in an hour right?" The blonde was surprised that the soldier knew, and at the same time not surprised at all.

"Ok. Was I the only one not in on this?"

Carlos laughed at her fake offence and said, "I'll be there too, along with a few others. So go home," the soldier smiled affectionately and wiped the tear on Alice's check away with his thumb, "take a shower, and I'll meet you back here soon."

The blonde smiled softly to herself as the two walked out of the hotel together.

Alice was back at the Arcadia in exactly one hour and she felt much better knowing that she was going to be among Carlos and Jill once again, even if that reason was because they were trying to bring down the very corporation they had all been loyally working under for years. She was a little nervous about seeing Chris, but that feeling went away the second her two friends smiled at her entrance.

The blonde had gotten them one of the larger suites on the top floor. Jill set up several radio frequency jammers and a white noise generator in the space, and Alice went around to each and recalibrated the devices to increase their efficiency. The tension in the air was palpable. Alice took a look at the faces of those around her. Carlos, Jill, and Chris she knew, but there was also a black male she'd never seen before, and the unknown faces of the two others they were still waiting for. There was a muted knock on the door and everyone inside immediately put their hands on their guns, except Chris who got up to answer.

"It's fine, it's just the last two," he said as he let them in and Alice's jaw dropped. Never in all her life did she expect Rain to walk through the door. To top it off the waiter, Mikey, followed close behind. She got why the soldier was here, but the Arcadia employee was a mystery.

"Mikey?" Alice questioned and the man smiled as he walked over to her. "No offence, but why is he here?" she asked the others.

The Aussie laughed with charm and then explained, "the Arcadia is pretty popular spot for Umbrella lackeys. You would be surprised at how many loosen their tongue in this hotel's _fine_ atmosphere."

Rain chimed in over the man's suave. "Whatever Mickey, you just offer people free drinks and take advantage of their _loose tongue_."

Alice lost herself in her own world at being reminded of the drugged drink she'd consumed. She could feel the blood pumping to her cheeks in shame. Suddenly the room's landline rang and it roused Alice from her contemplation, but put everyone else on edge.

Thankful for the interruption the blonde rose and said, "I got it." The suite was under her name so it would've seemed a little suspicious for someone else to answer. Alice walked to the desk and picked up the receiver.

"Hello," Alice said.

"_Hello. This is Crystal, from the front desk. I'm calling for Alice Parks."_

"I'm Alice Parks," the blonde responded.

"_Your spouse is waiting in the lobby to see you. It's urgent."_

_Oh god, _Alice thought, _Spence came back early, and he knows. _The blonde struggled to keep her cool as she hung up the phone and explained to the others that she would be back in a moment.

When Alice got to the lobby she looked for her husband, but he was nowhere to be found. She thought about trying to call him with her cell but decided it would be better to just get to the meeting and deal with him later. The blonde headed back to the elevator and right as she was turning a corner in the hallway Claire appeared in front of her.

The redhead smiled with unbridled joy, "I thought you might need an excuse to get out of there. How about some lunch?"

"Lunch?" Alice gasped in disbelief. "How did you know where I was?"

"I have my sources. What's wrong? You don't look happy to see me."

The blonde shook her head angrily. People were passing the two by so Alice took Claire by the arm and led her to another deserted hallway.

"What do you think this is?" she whispered.

"The morning after?" Claire replied with a smile.

Alice was close to growling her next words as they emanated lowly from her throat. "We didn't do anything last night."

The redhead smirked with the utter knowledge that she had all the power.

"But you can't remember, can you?" Claire asked with her eyebrows raised innocently.

"It didn't happen!" the blonde raved and Claire looked around to make sure they weren't overheard.

"Alice, not so loud. You'll cause a scene."

"Right. A scene," the blonde thought for a moment and then grabbed Claire's arm vehemently. "That's exactly what we need."

Alice escorted the redhead to an elevator, but Claire struggled.

"What are you doing?"

"What I should've done last night. I'm taking you to tell Jill and the others whatever you want. They'll know you're out of your mind."

"Why are you trying to ruin this?" Claire pleaded.

"There is no _this_!" Alice barked back at her.

A look of pure agony fell over the redhead's features as she whispered, "don't say that."

"God-damn-it!" The blonde cursed and threw her prisoner against a wall next to them. The back of Claire's head hit the barrier and stunned her slightly causing Alice to take a step back in surprise of her violence. "I'm sorry…"

The redhead looked confused as she said, "what's wrong with you? You're acting like a stranger."

"Yes! That's exactly what I am. A stranger, a person you don't know," Alice tried to reason. "Now either go up there and tell them your bullshit lies or get the hell out of here."

Claire's words were ominous, "you think you can use me; then throw me away." The woman's appearance softened, and Alice felt guilty but couldn't explain why. "I'm not some piece of garbage, Alice." She reached out to touch the blonde's downturned face. "I'm a human being…"

Alice's expression darkened. She snatched Claire's hand before it could touch her and brought up her other one to strike the redhead.

"Do it," Claire surrendered. "Hit me. You can do anything you want to me. Don't you know that? Anything."

Alice released Claire's hand and gazed at the woman in front of her. She thought she should feel some pity, but all she felt was disgust and loathing.

"Don't look at me that way," Claire begged and Alice was cold in her reply.

"How else do you look at someone who sickens and repulses you?" _How else am I supposed to look at myself, _Alice thought. Claire was a monster; she'd destroyed what Alice believed to be the truth and now ignorance was a crutch the blonde could no longer claim. She turned around and pushed the button for the elevator.

"Alice, please…"

The blonde faced the woman and spoke with cool detachment.

"I don't care what you do or say. What goes on in that twisted little head of yours. It doesn't matter because the truth is, there's never going to be anything between us. So go ahead Claire – do your worst," Alice provoked. Just then the elevator arrived and the door opened. She stepped through it and turned to face Claire as the doors closed. The blonde watched tears form in the redhead's eyes. The despairing look upon her face stayed in Alice's mind long after the doors finally shut.

The Head of Security reentered the meeting and Rain confronted her.

"About time."

"Fuck off," Alice threatened. She was in no mood to deal with any of Rain's attitude and the solider seemed to get the message. Jill could tell her friend was in distress.

"Are you ok?" she asked and Alice nodded.

Rain began the discussion by updating everyone on the progress with the virus.

"Ok. I learned yesterday that Dr. Isaacs has formed some kind of new virus. Something he calls the Tyrant virus or T-virus for short. Wesker wouldn't say what it does, but there's a cure for it if that tells you anything. I think it brings him just one step closer to his final goal."

"The sooner we do this – the better," Jill commented and the group nodded in agreement. Alice's assistant took lead during the rest of the meeting working out the details, discussing tactics, and setting a date for Alice to steal the virus about a month from now giving everyone just enough time to prepare.

When the business concluded they decided as a group on their next meeting time and place. Alice was thankful that she would return to an empty mansion and have some time to do some serious thinking.

The blonde left the Audi in the roundabout in front of the mansion not wanting to drive further and park in the garage. The building seemed emptier to Alice than usual and it was an odd reflection of the feeling inside herself.

As the blonde got deeper into the structure queasiness surfaced in the pit of her stomach. She started off towards the master bedroom, and her gut feeling was confirmed with a trail of clothes littering a clean floor leading straight to the bed. The covers were displaced and there was definitely someone beneath them. It took Alice all of one second to put two and two together.

"No. No fucking way…"

The blonde made her way to the bed and just as she suspected a head of red hair was peaking out beneath the black fabric.

"Claire, damn it," Alice cursed. When the woman didn't respond the blonde's animosity turned to worry. She pulled back the heavy covers cautiously, and saw Claire's ghostly face first, her eyes were closed. The blonde practically ripped the sheets away to uncover the redhead's naked body. Both of her wrists were slit. The crimson blood was smeared haphazardly across her porcelain skin.

"Claire!" Alice screamed and sprang into action. Her fingers felt for a pulse on the redhead's chilled neck. It was faint, but still there. Alice tore two pieces of fabric from the blood soaked sheet. She quickly tied them securely around each of Claire's wrists and used the rest of the sheet to cover the naked woman. Alice lifted the motionless redhead into her arms. There was no way an ambulance could arrive and take Claire to the hospital faster than Alice could drive her there herself.

She used her automatic car-starter the second they were outside and the sports car's engine roared to life. For a mere moment the woman in Alice's arms regained consciousness. The redhead opened her pale lips and what came out was barely a whisper.

"I love you, Alice."

The blonde didn't know what else to do so she kissed Claire on the temple as she continued to carry her to the vehicle.

Alice was remarkably calm when she finally got behind the wheel of her Audi. She took to the roads with a lead foot and a single-minded determination. Claire's life was in her hands…and on them. Her palms were stained with the woman's blood.

At Raccoon City Hospital Alice burst into the E.R. with Claire.

"I need help! She's lost a lot of blood!"

A doctor immediately approached the woman unconscious in Alice's arms and asked, "what happened to her?"

Had the blonde's adrenaline not been soaring she would have choked on the words, "she cut her wrists."

"Can you follow me with her?"

"Yes," Alice stated and kept on the heels of the man in scrubs as he shouted for the personnel and items he'd need. They went into an unoccupied emergency room down the hall.

"Put her down," the doctor ordered and motioned to the examination table in the middle of the room.

Alice obliged but couldn't help doing so with some reluctance. _Don't you dare die Claire, _she thought. Nurses had followed them and were now moving about the room with frenzy. One nurse prepped an IV while another removed the sheet from Claire's body and a third checked for vital signs.

"Now get out," the doctor commanded to Alice. He went to the patient and took off the Spartan bandage to access the damage on Claire's left arm. Dark red blood poured anew and he put pressure on the wound.

"What?" The blonde asked in disbelief. She didn't want to leave the redhead to face her fate alone. The beeping of an ECG machine began in the background and to Alice, Claire's heartbeat didn't sound regular at all.

"You're in the way. Nurse, get her out of here!" The doctor shouted and a woman in scrubs approached Alice. For a second she tensed to fight back, but recognized she could be of no help to Claire. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she should leave. _What am I doing here? _The woman draped immobile on the table was not a friend, not family, not a lover; she was sick, delusional, and obsessed with someone who scorned her affection at every turn – the very someone who was now desperately trying to understand the new feelings welling up within her.

In the ER waiting room a nurse tried to get Claire's information from Alice, but the blonde could offer only a name and phone call to alert the patient's relatives. The clean white surfaces of the hospital made Alice anxious to get to the bathroom and wash the blood from her hands. After that she left the hospital and sat in her Audi in the building's parking lot as she withdrew her cell. She dialed Jill's number from memory and brought the devise to her ear. The unsuspecting assistant answered pleasantly.

"_Hey Alice."_

"Jill," the blonde swallowed and thought it best to just come out with it. "Claire's in the hospital."

"_What! What happened? Is she ok?"_

The woman's shock was no surprise to Alice, what she didn't know was how her friend would react to the circumstances of Claire's injuries.

The response was thick in Alice's throat, "she tried to commit suicide. I don't know if she's – if she's going to be ok. We're at Raccoon City Hospital."

"_We're leaving now."_

Jill hung up on her end but Alice spoke into the speaker for herself.

"I'm sorry Jill."

Jill and Chris met Alice in the waiting room about 20 minutes later. The nurse that had questioned Alice earlier approached Chris. Jill wrapped Alice in a hug as he began to fill out the standard medical information. The blonde was trying to keep her composure while Chris was losing his, but Jill seemed to be the rock they both needed.

Chris finished the questionnaire and asked desperately, "what happened Alice?"

This was one talk the blonde did not want to have. How could she explain it? How could she tell Chris that Claire's obsession with her drove her to try and kill herself…and may have even succeeded? It suddenly hit Alice that Claire could be dead right now and they would have no idea until a doctor came to tell them. The blonde's readying breath was stifled by the appearance of the doctor Alice had turned Claire over to. Chris and Jill's faces mirrored the apprehension Alice felt as he walked to the three.

"Are you the family of Claire Redfield?" he asked and Chris answered hopefully.

"I'm her brother."

"She's in a stable condition." There was a collective sigh of relief and the doctor continued, "we had to give her a blood transfusion and she's been moved to the psychiatric ward for suicide watch. She needs to rest, but you will be able to see her in a couple hours."

"Thank you," Chris stated. The doctor turned to leave the three and Chris shook his head. "I just don't understand. Why would she try to kill herself?"

Alice looked down as another man joined the group with a response.

"That's what I'm here to find out."

"And you are?" Chris asked.

"Dr. Addison, but you can call me Matt. I'm the psychologist from Umbrella assigned to your sister Claire, and until she wakes I'd like to talk to you."

Alice knew Umbrella would send one of their own specialists to Claire. It was just another way to keep the Hive a secret. The two men shook hands and Chris introduced Jill and Alice to him.

"Now," Matt turned to Alice and the blonde could see what was coming; she dreaded it, "you were the one who found her right?"

"Yes," Alice responded.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I came home and found her in my bed with her wrists-"

"What? Why was she in your bed?" Chris demanded of Alice and Jill looked at her confused, but the doctor intervened.

"Ok, I need to speak to Alice alone," he steered Alice away from the couple into one of the empty offices. He motioned for Alice to sit in a chair and he did the same. "For me to help Claire, I need you to tell me what's going on."

Alice looked into Matt's blue eyes. They were full of compassion and the blonde realized that he really did care. She told him from the beginning what took place between her and Claire right up to finding her naked and bleeding in the bed.

"Well, according to what you've told me," Matt said, "Claire is the poster girl for obsessive love. She's been through all four phases: attraction, anxiety, obsession, and destruction."

"Can she get better?"

"Maybe, with therapy," Alice felt relief as Matt continued, "and absolutely no contact with you." The blonde's relief was replaced with a slight unease. "I'll have to evaluate her myself, but the suicide attempt automatically means she is no longer qualified to work for Umbrella. I assume as Head of Security you'll see to what that entails."

"Of course."

When their talk concluded Dr. Addison's phone went off. He brought out the devise, read the message on it and said, "it seems Claire is awake. I'm going to talk to her." The doctor left but not without first getting Alice's contact information in case he had any more questions.

When Alice went back into the waiting room Chris and Jill were whispering amongst themselves. Jill patted her husband's knee and then looked up at Alice. The blonde told them the truth about Claire in not so many words and without much detail. Chris didn't make eye contact with her once but Jill was supportive.

A nurse appeared not long after and told Chris that he could see his sister when he was ready so he left his wife and Alice immediately. The blonde woman took a conscious breath and Jill put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I need to delete all her files." Alice fiddled with her hands. "Revoke her access to everything."

Jill nodded in understanding and the blonde continued.

"She's you're sister-in-law, shouldn't you hate me or something?"

"She is family, but she's sick. You're my best friend, Alice. I could never hate you."

"I hate me," Alice said as she looked down.

"Why?"

"Look at what I did to her; look at what I made her do."

"You didn't make her do anything. She's not well."

Alice's phone vibrated in her pocket, she pulled it out, and read the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Jill asked.

"Spence," Alice replied and let the devise ring a little longer.

"What are you going to tell him?"

"The truth," Alice resolved and answered the call right before it transferred to voicemail. "Hello?"

"_Alice! Are you ok? There's blood everywhere-"_

"Spence relax, I'm fine. I'm on my way home right now and I'll explain when I get there." It was just one more conversation the blonde never wanted to have.

Chris returned to get Jill before Alice could go. He said only one thing to the blonde before the two left together to see Claire; his tone was surprisingly void of emotion.

"She's asking about you."

The statement seeped into Alice's consciousness and it left her next to speechless. How was she supposed to respond to that? _I want to ask about her too, _Alice thought; then turned around and walked out.


	9. Limerence

**This is the final chapter, I hope you all enjoy it! Reviews are always welcome and desired :)**

Chapter 9: Limerence

Alice found Spence waiting anxiously in the foyer and he hugged her tight when she entered.

"God, I was so afraid something happened to you," he said.

The man's concern usually would have been welcomed, but this time Alice just found it annoying.

"I told you Spence, I'm fine," she replied as she pulled away from his embrace and jumped right into the telling, oddly unconcerned about her husband's reaction. "Jill's replacement came in here and tried to commit suicide. It's her blood on the bed."

"What? I don't understand. Why would she come here?"

"She came on to me, I turned her down, and this," Alice looked around noncommittally, "is what happened."

"She came on to you?" Spence's expression was the epitome of shock and disbelief

"She's been stalking me since I hired her."

"I don't believe it," the man scoffed not really hearing Alice's last comment. The thought of two women in a relationship together, while what they could do in bed was a turn on, was just not something he could fathom.

"Believe what you like," Alice responded as her irritation grew.

"I'm sorry, but what am I supposed to think? You tell me another woman comes on to you, and _this is what happened_," he quoted sarcastically. "You must have done something. Did you lead her on?" Spence went from unbelieving to accusing. "Are you a fucking lesbian now?"

Alice's eyes turned on him with fury as he continued his rant.

"How the fuck could you cheat on me with another woman?" he yelled as he invaded Alice's space.

"Nothing happened!"

"She was in our bed for Christ's sake when I was conveniently gone for a conference!"

The blonde smacked Spence hard across the face.

"Yes, she was in our bed – trying to kill herself!" Alice was done; she couldn't talk about Claire like this any longer. Spence was only focused on what he thought was an affair; he didn't give a damn about Claire or his wife for that matter. The blonde turned away from him as his cheek began to turn red.

Alice left Spence in the foyer and made for the train to the underground laboratory; now seemed as good a time as any to clear the Hive of every trace of Claire and she would also get the space she needed from Spence.

In tier eight Alice sat at her desk and pulled up every one of Claire's files. Once deleted, all of the ex-temp's passwords and access to the Hive and other Umbrella areas would vanish. The redhead wouldn't be able to come within miles of this place. The blonde hit delete and just as she did her phone vibrated in her pocket, the caller ID read: **Jill**.

She rushed to answer and ignored the pop-up that appeared on the screen of her laptop.

"Hello?"

Jill's breathless voice sounded on the other end of the line.

"_Alice, I'm going into labor."_

"What! Right now?" Alice asked shocked.

"_No, yesterday. Yes, right now!"_

Jill's sarcasm was accented by the seriousness of the situation.

"I'm coming – I'm coming."

Alice shut her laptop, sure that she had completed her task, and for the second time that day went to Raccoon City Hospital.

The blonde wasn't allowed in Jill's room when the delivery was taking place, but it ended up a surprisingly short labor time. While Alice waited, her thoughts were drawn to wondering about the distance between the maternity and psychiatric ward, as well as to the patient within the latter.

Jill sent Chris to collect Alice in a couple hours time. The new father was happy, but the blonde could tell that beneath his blissful façade was worry for his sister. Jill seemed drained but overall the black-harried woman was doing well.

"Alice, I'm glad you came," Jill said as she smiled.

The blonde walked over to the hospital bed and looked at the bundle in her friend's embrace. The new life lifted Alice's spirits immensely.

"Of course," she replied.

Jill held the child up to her and Alice took it in her arms with the utmost gentleness. The blonde looked into the baby's eyes and the blue irises were remarkably similar to her own.

"It's a girl," Jill beamed. "Her name is Angela Janus."

At that the baby seemed to coo and Alice fought to keep anything but joy from her features.

"She's beautiful," Alice said.

Suddenly Chris spoke up as he looked lovingly at his daughter.

"Angela was my idea and Claire wanted Janus."

The blonde was not surprised to hear it and she didn't think Chris meant anything by mentioning Claire, but it still made her feel a little sick. She spent a good portion of her evening with Jill and the baby, but left when the mother began to tire. Alice would be lying if she said she was anything other than exhausted at the end of that day.

Alice's divorce was swift in coming. The blonde swore that is was not contingent on what happened with Claire. She wanted to be alone; to just take a break from her husband but that wasn't good enough for Spence. He thought that the idea of a time-out was ridiculous and got angry. Spence threatened her with an ultimatum – if they separated now it would be permanent, and Alice was ok with that. Spence and all his things were removed from the mansion immediately.

The time to retaliate against Umbrella was fast approaching, but Alice still felt like her life was in a state of pause. She did almost everything alone after Spence left; she worked alone without an assistant, she ate alone, she slept alone; it was only when Jill would visit with Angela or when Carlos would stop by for a drink that Alice had real, human interaction. _What is happening to me? _Alice thought. She didn't know what she was living for anymore and she felt that once she stole the virus her life would become forfeit.

The loneliness was both a gift and a curse, or rather, it gave Alice all the time in the world to think and it was her thoughts that were the double-edged sword. The redhead's remarkable work ethic was absent from her office, the blonde had wine with her dinner almost every night, she couldn't get in her car without debating whether or not she should where her seatbelt, and most shockingly the redhead was a constant feature in Alice's dreams. Claire had given her a lot to consider.

Claire's obsession for her was unhealthy – yes, but did that also make it completely wrong? Could an alcoholic ever have a good relationship with alcohol? For certainly Alice was 190 proof liquor as far as Claire's destructive addiction was concerned.

It was the day before Alice was going to steal the virus when she finally reached some kind of conclusion. Until then there had been absolutely no contact from, no interaction with, and no mention of Claire whatsoever, and until then Alice hadn't wanted it. She decided that the next time she saw Jill she would ask how the redhead was doing.

_January 5, 2011_

_Today, all her dreams come true._

The next day Alice woke at 5 a.m. and like always she got into the shower.

Her phone vibrated on the sink, but she couldn't hear it over the noise of the falling water as she lathered her hair. The devise read:

**Biological Outbreak Emergency Protocol OVERRIDE. Biological Purge INITIATE. Authorization: RED QUEEN**

The blonde rinsed out the conditioner in her hair and just as she turned off the faucet her phone vibrated again. Alice tried to think about who could be calling her with slightest fantasy that it was the redhead, but her mind seemed to cloud and her senses became dull. She reached for anything to keep her standing, but all she could do was pull the shower curtain off its rungs as she fell to the floor.

**Mansion Defense ACTIVATE. Authorization: RED QUEEN**


End file.
